First slalom. Now GS. Don't be surprised to see Mikaela Shiffrin winning downhills in a few years. Photo from Wikimedia Commons.

Teenage slalom sensation Mikaela Shiffrin tied for first place in the season-opening World Cup giant slalom in Soelden, Austria, and the video of her second run clarifies that this win was far from a fluke.

Skibowl got a grant through the Forest Service to install new support posts and perform masonry work on the Historic Waming Hut.

Skibowl is heading into the winter season with new lockers, stronger Wi-Fi, an improved computer system for rentals, a new conveyor lift for beginners, and some much needed upgrades to the Historic Mid-Mountain Warming Hut. Now all they need is snow — preferably lots of it.

Mt. Hood Fusion Pass holders will get free days at 11 resorts throughout the west in addition to unlimited slope time at Timberline and Skibowl in 2014-15, as the Powder Alliance adds British Columbia's Silver Star Mountain to its offerings.

Sammy C shredding Meadows in December 2013, with Mount Jeff in the background.

UPDATE: The votes are in, and Sammy won. Oregon-born-and-raised freeskier extraordinaire Sammy Carlson is the defending champion of the Real Ski Backcountry X Games competition, and his jaw-dropping 2014 video shows why won again this year.

Tommy Ellingson, Josh Larkin and the Homegrown crew spent the summer solstice and the week following exploring Illumination Saddle at 9300 feet and catching some fine air off of their hand-built jumps.